Dropping board for use in poultry houses



June 1931. o. A. RAINWATER DROPPING BOARD FOR USE IN POULTRY HOUSES Filed Sept. 1927 INVENTOR 01m 14 F/l/NM? 775/? TTNY Patented June 2, 1931 ORA A. BAINWATER, F

MABYSVILLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MRS. WILLIATII J. WHITE DROPPING BOARD FOR USE IN POULTRY HOUSES Application filed September This invention relates to dropping boards for use in poultry houses and more particularly to that class having a sanitary, movable surface to receive the droppings and from which they may be removed as the surface is moved into contact with some suit able agency as a brush or scraper.

Many attempts have been made to construct a practical, self-cleaning dropping 50 board to relieve poultrymen of the most disagreeable drudgery connected with their business, but it has been found diflicult to construct one of cheap material and at the same time simple and easy to operate.

The purpose of this improved dropping board is to provide one that is sanitary, that can be installed in any vtype of poultry house, one constructed of inexpensive material, easily repaired, and that requires but little power or strength to operate.

In accomplishing these objects, I have provided the improved details of construc tion, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is perspective view of the device, showing the construction and installation with sheet partly wound on roller and part of top sheet cut away.

Figure 2 is a perspective View of an alternative construction.

Figure 3 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of the roller winding assembly.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the oiling tank.

Referring more in detail to the drawings- The frame of the device, as an entirety, is designated by reference numeral 1, and it comprises the opposite end sections having uprights 2-2 and 33 connected across the top ends, respectively, by the cross bars 1 and 1. These end sections are rigidly joined along opposite sides of the frame by the horizontal connecting beams 5-5 in which the opposite ends of a plurality of transversely disposed rollers 6 are rotatably mounted at spaced intervals longitudinally of the frame and whichserve to support the 7, 1927. Serial No. 217,959.

flexible, dropping receiver 7, presently described.

The dropping receiver consists preferably of two sheets of oiled paper 8 and 9, disposed one on top of the other and secured at one end to a cross bar 7 and at their other ends secured to and adapted to be wound onto and from a drum 16 that is mounted revolubly on a cross shaft 14 extended between the end standards 32. ,0 Also, revoluble on the shaft 14 adjacent to the end of the drum 16, is a relatively short drum l3, and, secured to this so that it may be moved thereon, is one end of a cable 11 which extends to the opposite end of the 0.5 frame below the rollers 6 and then passes over a pulley wheel 12 secured to the end of the frame and then back and is secured to the cross bar 7 at the end of the dropping receiver.

In this construction, the bottom sheet 9 serves as a support for the top sheet 8 and also provides a reserve oil supply as is here inafter described. The opposite side edges of the sheet 9 are reinforced by binder tapes .0 of suitable material to preserve the edges and relieve the paper strip of the strain incident to winding.

For the purpose of rotating the shaft 14 to wind or unwind the strip 7 on the drum 16, I have equipped the shaft at one end with a crank 15, and fixed to the shaft 14: between the drums 13 and 16, is on arm 17 equipped at its outer end with oppositely directed pawls 18 and 19 which, respectively, cooperate with ratchet teeth 18 and 19 formed on the peripheries of the adjacent end flanges of the drums 13 and 16.

A scraper plate 20 is pivotally mounted between the uprights 22 and has a free edge held yieldably in scraping contact with the surface of the dropping strip 7 as it winds about the drum 16, by means of a coiled spring 21 that is attached to the plate and to the frame piece 2.

Rotatably mounted between the uprights 22 above the strip 7 and drum 16 on a supporting shaft 23 that is extended between these uprights, is a cylindrical, horizontally disposed oil tank 22 provided with one or more rows of small perforations 2e. This tank has a top filling opening 25 over which a cap 25 is fitted and a spring plate latch 26 is attached to one end of the tank and this has a notch adapted to coact with studs 27'-27"on the frame piece 2to hold the: tank against rotation, with the row of per forations upwardly or downwardly directed.

A stripof felt 28, or other suitable naterial is attached to the tank for the purpose of it be cleaned, the pawl 18 is disengaged from the drum 13 and pawl 19 engaged with its drum, sheets 8 and 9 are wound onto drum 16, and as they are wound thereon, the scraper plate 20 scrapes the droppings therefrom and they may be caught in any suitable receptacle.

Atthe completion of this operatiointhe pawls 18 and 19 are reversed, thus freeing drum 16 andsecuring drum 18, to which cord 11 is attached =to-the shaft 1 3 Thelatch 26"of the tank 22 is released and thetank turned with openings downward. Then, by turning the handle 15 in the reverse direction, the cord 11 is wound on the drum l3 and the droppingboard sheets are returned to the service position under the roosts. At the same time oil pours from the tank 22 through the perforations 24 onto the surface of drooping board sheets and is spread,

evenly by the felt swab 28. At the conclusion of this operation, the tank 22 is rotated until the perforations are upward above the level of the tanks contents and the tank secured in such position by dropping the, latch 26 over the pin 27 attached to the upright 2; p

The principal feature of this invention consists of the double sheets of paper con-.

stituting the dropping receiver and i the means for oiling of the sheets. Used automobile crank case oil mixed with a disinfectant such as creosote has been found best adapted to the purpose. Paperis used primarily because of its cheapness and also because of its oil absorbent quahties' and the resultant smooth or glazed surface which facilitates the scraping off of the droppings. The double sheet is used because the bottom sheet can be made of a heavier'and cheaper quality of material, but principally because" theoil' held therein serves to reinforce the oil content of the top sheet.v Theswater in the droppings often causes the oil in the top then by turning the crank 15 thesheet, or a single sheet, to rise to the top thus exposing the fabric to the chemical action of the droppings which results in adhesion of the droppings to the sheet and in a short time destroying it. By means of fthe oil in the bottom'sheet reinforcing the top sheet throughpapilla'ry attraction, this adhesion is prevented. Another advantage inithe useof paper lies inthe ease of making-needed repairs when the sheets become worn or mutilated for any reason.

- InFigure 2 is shown an alternative form of construction for use in small poultry houses, wherein-a double belt like dropping board is used and wherein cords or tapes constitute a part of the belt.

It is obvious that many of the details of construction may be varied Without departing from the spirit of the invention and, for

this reason, it is not desired that the claimsbe'lnnited only to the details shown.

Having thus described my invention-what Y I cla'i n as new therein and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a frame structure having oppo site end sections, a plurality of supporting rollers in the frame, a horizontal shaft revolubly mounted nrone of said end sectlons, a pulley on the other end section, a relatively long and short drum revoluble on the shaft, means for rotating the shaft, an arm fixedto-theshaft between the drums, oppositely directed pawls fixed to the arm for engaging the drums, respectively, to rotate them with the shaft, a dropping board; composed of 1 a plurality of superimposed, flexible strips of paper, or the like, attached aton end;-to the larger drum, a cable attached ,to the other end of the board and extended over said pulley and back tothe short drum and adapted to be wound. ontosald drum to unwind the board from its drum, and todraw it out across said supporting rollers, a scraping'plate mounted to engage the top of the board as it is wound onto its drum, and a solutloncontamer mounted above the drums, having openings therein from which a solutionmay be discharged onto the board RS113 is drawn out.

2. A device as in claim 1, wherein means is provided for supporting the container 1n position to retain or discharge 1ts contents."

Signed at Everett, Vashington, this 22nd day of August 1 1927.

ORA A. RAINWATER; 

